


finals

by NOiSE_wav



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, i need me a mans like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 04:18:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14036028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NOiSE_wav/pseuds/NOiSE_wav





	finals

Keith groans. This was about the fifth revision he asked you to do, and still there were mistakes. Pinching his cheek with one hand, you take a swig of coffee with your free one. With a gulp you look at him empathetically with equally dark bags under your eyes, ruffling his hair. “Alright, c’mon, up and at ‘em champ; sixth time's the charm.”

 

“I can’t.. not again… I’m not.. strong enough.”

 

There’s a silence that hangs in the air between the two of you for an  _ uncomfortably _ long amount of time, but you want it that way. You want to make Keith feel awkward, because you  **cannot** _ believe _ what you just heard.

 

“Did you just quote the fucking ‘ _ Incredibles _ ’ to me? Keith Kogane, are you fucking  _ memeing _ me?”

 

“...Maybe.”

 

Oh god, you were losing him. Keith was losing his mind before your very eyes. The down spiral into insanity was happening and you were unwillingly strapped to the passenger seat.

 

Drinking coffee in one hand and Red Bull in the other (hey, finals was going to kill you one way or another), you flick Keith’s forehead as he snickers before beginning to work on your own essay.

 

It doesn’t take long for you to get stressed —your mind thinking about all the other essays you have to do (not to mention your group projects) and then, finally, your  **finals** .

 

You and Keith had agreed to work together in an attempt to motivate and help each other out, but it wasn’t enough just to be there with him. It was selfish to want to monopolize him when you knew just how bad he had it too, but the desire still sat with you. Hours go by and it’s obvious by the sudden lack of echoing fingers on a keyboard that something is wrong. Keith exits his hyper-focus mode to check up on you only to find you breathing through your teeth with a hand on your forehead. Eyes wide in surprise, he puts a hand on your shoulder and you immediately tense up.

 

“Whoa—hey, what’s wrong, ____?”

 

A sharp intake of air, and even though you don’t trust your voice to remain constant, the least he deserves is a reply.

 

“I can’t do it, Keith. I really can’t do it. I have so much to do and I know it’s my fault for pushing it until the very last minute but I couldn’t help it and now I have to do all this work and I don’t even have time to eat properly because I need that time to do all of this and I just-” a sigh after your rapid speaking. Your body is completely tense, but you don’t know how to get rid of it; should you scream into a pillow? Punch something? Cry? All of the above? You don’t know, and so you simply cover your face with your hands again. “I’m sorry, Keith; I know you have your own work to do, just-just ignore me, I’ll be fine—I just needed a minute or two.”

 

You reach for your laptop to continue writing your paper when it suddenly closes, almost snagging your fingers in the process. Glossy eyes wide in confusion, the sound of another laptop closing catches your attention and you turn to see Keith’s hands on the top of it. “Keith? What are you-” before you can finish your sentence though, you’re immediately wrapped in his arms and pulled closer to him. You didn’t expect him to do that, and so your hands immediately rest themselves on his chest as that was the first thing they made impact with. It was a surprisingly comfortable position you were in considering the circumstances.

 

“Keith, what are you doing? We need to get to work if we’re gonna finish these papers by their due date-” your words become more hushed as he brings a finger to your lips, silencing you. “You’re right, but I’m not gonna let you continue doing this at the cost of your mental health.” A thumb brushes over your eyes, and when you blink to close them, you realize that they’re welled up with tears. “I-It’s okay, Keith, I can do it.” You try and play it off, but you turn to the side and use your sleeve to wipe away the tears before they can fall.

 

“I know you can do it, but I don’t want you to. Stay with me, ____; just for a little while. Let’s stay like this just for a little while longer, and then we can  _ both _ get back to work, alright? I need a break too, so just think of it as helping me out.” He smiles at you gently, and you can’t help but return that smile. It was so pure and earnest that you immediately felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders.

 

Resting your head on his chest, you listen to the rhythmic thumping of his heartbeat (quite a contrast to your rapidly beating one, though it was unbeknownst to you). It was so calming that you couldn’t help but eventually be lulled to sleep by it after having stayed up for an unhealthy amount of time. Keith is still awake by the time you’re asleep, and he looks at you lovingly, playing with your hair and brushing it away from your face. The essays, the projects, the studying… So many things needed to be done in such a short time—there was no time to waste, but… Spending time curled up with you.. watching you sleep.. seeing you so at peace after hours of distress.. all of these were a welcome change of pace. Before he even notices it, your warmth wraps itself around him, and your peaceful face is like a siren’s voice. You both had so much work to do, but maybe it’d be okay to rest for just a little bit. Ever since the crunch for the end of the semester began, Keith had been nothing but stressed, and yet just a simple look at your sleeping face was enough to put him at peace.

 

And so, the two of you fell into a deep slumber with you in his arms, textbooks and loose-leaf paper strewn throughout the dormitory haphazardly.


End file.
